6 Vibrant Photos of Surfing Culture at Its Peak

From the shores of Hawaii to the California coast, no other sport captures our imagination quite like surfing. And no photographer understood the bliss of nailing a perfect wave quite like LeRoy Grannis, who chronicled the scenes in California and Hawaii in the early 1960s.

Suction-cupping a waterproof box to his board, which enabled him to change his film in the water, Grannis was an innovator, determined to get the best shot. Here, in an excerpt from his coffee table book, Surf Photography of the 1960s and 1970s (Taschen), Grannis' iconic images of the surf lifestyle are on full display. — Jill Krasny

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Makaha, Hawaii, 1962. A classic '40s-era woody is flanked by a crew of young surfers between heats at the Makaha Championships. Left to right: unidentified, Ivan Vanetta, Frank Grannis, Paul Strauch, Candy Calhoun, Robin Calhoun.